956 
A JOURNEY PROM MADRAS THROUGH 
CHAPTER possessed by a devil, and this sect having been called upon to cast 
him out, all their prayers were of no avail. At length ten persons, 
June 22, &c. having thrown aside the Linga, and offered up their supplications 
to Vishnu , they succeeded in expelling the enemy; and ever after- 
wards followed the worship of this god, in which they have been 
imitated by many of their brethren. The descendants of these men, 
who are called Sadana Ashorlu, or the celebrated heroes, never work ; 
and having dedicated themselves to the service of god, live upon 
the charity of the industrious part of the cast, with whom they 
disdain to intermarry. 
The Guru of the Padma Shalciy is Tata Achdrya , one of the here- 
ditary chiefs of the Sri Vaishnavam Brahmans. He lives at Do da 
Bala-pura, and bestows Upadesa and Chakrdntikam. He has here a de- 
puty, a Vaid'ika Brahman, who attends at births, marriages, and burials. 
Widows are never buried alive. The Padma Shalay are allowed a 
plurality of wives ; but cannot confine their women, nor divorce 
them, except for adultery. They cannot legally eat animal food, 
nor drink spirituous liquors ; but are permitted to us eGanja, or hemp, 
which the English in India usually call Bang. Some among them 
are able to read poetry, and have a book called MaiLandiya Parana, 
which is also followed by several sects that wear the Linga , and is 
said to have been written by a Rishi named Markanda . 
The Comatigas say, that they are the only true Vaisya , which is 
the third in rank of the pure casts; and they pretend, that now they 
are next in rank to the Brahmans , as the second pure cast has be- 
come extinct. In both these pretensions they are supported by all 
the Brahmans who are not desirous of flattering some Raja that 
pretends to be a Kshatri. They are found thinly scattered in every 
part of India, and are not prevented from eating in common, or from 
intermarriage, by any difference of nation or sect. A Coma tig a 
coming from Kdsi or Benares, on being examined, and found to be 
acquainted with certain customs peculiar to the cast, and which are 
kept secret, is received here into all families, and may marry any 
Customs of 
the Comat i~ 
gas. 
